LatestCourtney DittmarAugust 10, 2023Alvaro BarrientosComment

A shepherd keeps up the ancient rite of guiding sheep across northern Spain

LatestCourtney DittmarAugust 10, 2023Alvaro BarrientosComment

A fine cloud of dust drifts across the sun-drenched landscape. The tinkling of sheep bells floats in the air, announcing the movement of 1,000 sheep and some goats through an ancient Spanish transhumance — or livestock migration — route.

Over seven days, the flock is guided with skill by shepherd Ángel Mari Sanz, 62, keeping up a tradition dating back to the ninth century.

The flock will plod its way over the route, known as “La Cañada de The Roncaleses” (The Path of the Roncaleses). They will pass through the arid lands of Las Bardenas Reales area in the northern region of Navarra and arrive in the cooler, greener valleys and mountains of the Pyrenees.

Near the town of Vidangoz, the sheep will graze until mid-September when the weather changes, and Sanz will shepherd his flock back south.

Angel Mari Sanz, 62, one of the last active sheep herders, walks close to his daughter Mireia, 14, as they drive their flock of sheep through the ancient Spanish transhumance route known as "La Cañada de The Roncaleses" (The Path of the Roncaleses) in Navarra province, in Vidangoz, Northern Spain, Thursday, June 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

A herd of sheep is led through the ancient Spanish transhumance route known as "La Cañada de The Roncaleses" (The Path of the Roncaleses) in Navarra province, near to Fustinana, Northern Spain, Friday, June 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

A herd of sheep is driven by Angel Mari Sanz, 62, one of the last active sheep herders, through the ancient Spanish transhumance route known as "La Cañada de The Roncaleses" (The Path of the Roncaleses) in Navarra province, near to Fustinana, Northern Spain, Friday, June 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

Modern farming methods have reduced the transhumance seasonal movement of livestock to greener pastures in Spain and other countries in recent decades.

Shepherds and environmentalists try to promote the practice, saying it's more sustainable and helps protect the land from wildfires as the animals eat up grass, leaves and twigs along the way.

Some sheep pant in the intense heat. They break into a run whenever they sense a nearby spring or pond.

“This pastoral life is disappearing,” Sanz says. Trekking these hills since he was 14, he knows the paths like the back of his hand.

“Here, I have spent my life,” he comments nostalgically. “I have had freedom, living in the countryside with nature.”

He criticizes authorities for not promoting transhumance more.

“There is a lot of neglect," Sanz says. "There hasn't been any kind of support for the rural world.”

Angel Mari Sanz, 62, one of the last active sheep herders, leads his flock of sheep through the ancient Spanish transhumance route known as "La Cañada de The Roncaleses" (The Path of the Roncaleses) in Navarra province, in near to Burgui, Northern Spain, Wednesday, June 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

Sheep herder Angel Mari Sanz, 62, eats lunch with his daughter Mireia and Michel Iriarte during one of the stage crossing the ancient Spanish transhumance route known as "La Cañada de The Roncaleses" (The Path of the Roncaleses) in Navarra province, in Vidangoz, Northern Spain, Thursday, June 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

Shepherd Angel Mari Sanz, 62, sleeps next to his dog during a break driving his flock of sheep through the ancient Spanish transhumance route known as "La Cañada de The Roncaleses" (The Path of the Roncaleses) in Navarra province, near to Navascues, northern Spain, Tuesday, June 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

Shepherd Angel Mari Sanz, 62, walks with his dogs after spending the night next to his flock of sheep at the ancient Spanish transhumance route known as "La Cañada de The Roncaleses" (The Path of the Roncaleses) in Navarra province, near to Fustinana, Northern Spain, Saturday, June 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

Sanz calculates he has walked about 25,000 kilometers (15,000 miles) up and down these valleys in the nearly half-century he has been herding.

The sheep are led by goats. Age and tiredness sometimes sets in and it’s not unknown for some of the animals to die along the way, their carcasses being left for the vultures that can regularly be seen hovering above.

Sanz is accompanied by his 14-year-old daughter Mireia, and three or four others each year. A van carries provisions and tents for camping.

But as much as he loves his work, Sanz says doesn’t want his "daughter to be a shepherd for anything in the world.”

“This is a slave’s work and it is not worth all this effort today to barely survive," he says.